What should I do about these "okay" recs? Will they hurt me?

Parents Forum
1

<p>Hello parents,</p>

<p>I am a homeschooled senior applying to college right now -- Stanford EA, Rice ID, as well as Yale, Columbia, and Harvard, among others. Since many of these colleges are open to receiving (and in fact often request) supplementary materials from homeschoolers, I decided it wouldn't hurt to send in some extra recs from my research mentor at Stanford as well as from a couple of my community college math & science instructors. Three of the CC instructors had written letters in Jan/Feb for me for my Stanford research internship, and at the time I thought that they were all really good. This fall, I figured that it wouldn't hurt to ask them to write letters for me again. After all, knowing me for an additional 8+ months would surely lead to them writing even better recs, right? Apparently not.</p>

<p>I've had the chance to read this fall's recs from two of my CC instructors, and they're basically just re-hashes of my internship letters. Reading them now, the letters seem kind of weak, or at least non-concrete. This is completely not what I expected. I've known these instructors for over 3 years, not just in the classroom environment but on a personal level (going out for coffee, etc). I'm probably one of their favorite students. I tutor their students. I've done extremely well at my CC, earning the highest A in many of my classes. I ask lots of questions and, if I may say so, make the whole class benefit. And not to be arrogant, but I'm not exactly dumb (I'm a Siemens Westinghouse semifinalist, and I received the top award for my Stanford internship). From all indications, these letters should have been amazing, but I'm beginning to wonder if it'll be only the ratings boxes that will redeem these letters.</p>

<p>Fortunately, the letters from these two teachers aren't the only ones I'm sending to most schools. My Stanford research mentor and two other CC instructors are writing letters, too. For the recs from Ms. P and Mrs. S (see below), I attached a note to my Stanford app pointing out that those were additional recs and that the adcom should primarily consider the ones from Mr. A, Dr. B, and Dr. M. Below is the run-down of my recs and the apps each one is going with.</p>

<p>Mr. A -- Stanford, Rice, Santa Clara
First-semester calc instructor in my junior year, got me my job at CC as one of two main math tutors, I get along well with him but am not necessarily buddies with him -- no idea what he wrote (although another homeschooler I know got a rec from him for Stanford last year, and it was AMAZING -- she got in, btw).</p>

<p>Dr. B -- Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Rice, Santa Clara, Intel STS
Taught me in CC biology courses in 8th grade, 9th grade and 11th grade. Even if her letter is the same as the one she wrote last winter, I'll be thrilled. Her letter was solid, specific, and to the point, full of praise and still believable.</p>

<p>Dr. M -- Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Intel STS
My faculty mentor at Stanford (the guy who runs the lab). He emailed me his letter, and it is EXCELLENT. Like Dr. B's, it's specific and solid, not exaggerating yet not leaving anything out.</p>

<p>Ms. P -- Stanford, Yale, Columbia, Harvard, Saint Mary's, Intel STS
CC bio teacher, taught me in 9th, 11th, and this semester. I'm literally worried about this one. The first half of the letter covers stuff the adcoms will know already (educational background, what classes I took at CC, etc.). The second part is better, but it's kind of weak and vague (there are like three sentences that I adore and that target Stanford's form exactly, but that's it). My biggest concern is the spelling, capitalization, and grammar in this letter. Not to be rude, but for someone who has her master's degree and is going for a Ph.D., she uses atrocious and abominable English. There are also a couple of factual errors in this one. Assuming she gave me the generic college rec letter for STS (it's sitting in a sealed envelope), the letter barely touches on no more than half of the STS form's evaluation pts if that (as if there are many), and I am seriously considering not sending in her letter with my STS app. I almost feel like the mechanics of this letter may discredit the academics of my CC in the eyes of adcoms.</p>

<p>Mrs. S -- Stanford, Rice, Yale, Saint Mary's
This letter is overall better than Ms. P's (Mrs. S also teaches at my CC), but it leaves an overall impression of, "So what did this letter really say?" It does bring out some personal qualities, but I fear that my teacher may have (unknowingly) painted a picture of me as a "bright, well-rounded kid" who is conscientious and diligent (i.e., using otherwise positive/praising words that may have negative connotations in the admissions world). Still, a nice letter, but probably considered to be just "okay."</p>

<p>Another look at it:
Stanford: Mr. A, Dr. B, Dr. M, Ms. P, Mrs. S
Rice: Mr. A, Dr. B, Mrs. S
Yale: Dr. B, Mrs. S, Ms. P, Dr. M
Harvard: Dr. B, Ms. P, Dr. M
Columbia: Dr. B, Ms. P, Dr. M
Saint Mary's: Mrs. S, Ms. P
Santa Clara: Mr. A, Dr, B</p>

<p>I realize that what's done is done and that I can't exactly tell my teachers, "Uhh, don't send your letter in." I'm also not in a position to ask other teachers to write recs, although it is indeed possible to ask Mr. A to print out a few more copies of his letter for Yale, Columbia, and/or Harvard. Obviously, I'm most concerned about the one from Ms. P, which may cast doubt on the part of adcoms on the validity of other great CC letters like the one from Dr. B. I do recognize that this is very likely the result of poor writing styles (at least for recs), and I am not holding it against them personally. Regarding their writing abilities and the impressions of me that each letter gives, why else would someone write a seemingly lackluster rec and yet check the boxes for "one of the top few of my career" boxes for many of the categories?!</p>

<p>So should I worry about it, change my game plan with the recs, or just not worry? Do any of you have experience with this type of situation with your kids applying to college? If anyone wants to read the letters (esp. the ones from Mrs. S and/or Ms. P), please PM me, and I can PM or (preferrably) email them to you. THANK YOU!!!</p>

2

<p>Just to clarify, the letters from Mrs. S and Ms. P are nice, but they kinda pale in comparison to a couple of the other letters.</p>

3

<p>Avalon, you have enough letters of recommendation and basically it is overkill for someone with your credentials to submit more than 3 references. I realize that as a homeschooled student you may feel that you need to document the fact that you have been spending time working with someone other than your mom, but I think that your other achievements speak for themselves. If I were you I would refrain from asking the people who have submitted weak recommendations for any further letters, but otherwise don't worry about things.</p>

4

<p>I agree with calmom.</p>

5

<p>Ditto. Stay with what you feel are the strongest. Round file the rest.</p>

6

<p>OK, will do. BTW, Mr. A just gave me his letter (he let me read it), and it's nice -- I think it actually reinforces the stuff Ms. P was trying to say but in a much more concrete manner. Thanks!</p>

7

<p>Virtually all elite schools want the recs sent directly and confidentially to the school. Understandably they don't want edited or controlled responses. They will ignore or not weigh very heavily if security is compromised. Your strategy doesn't fit the schools' intent on recs. I think you are over analyzing and controlling something you can't (or shouldn't) control.</p>

8

<p>"And not to be arrogant..."</p>

<p>You've got to be really careful with your essays and interviews, so that you don't come off as arrogant. </p>

<p>Letters of recommendation are not always literary masterpieces, and I am sure that adcoms get some real winners from time to time. As others have stated, you have plenty of letters to choose from, and you know their contents (a huge advantage over most applicants who are only guessing at their contents).</p>

9

<p>"As others have stated, you have plenty of letters to choose from, and you know their contents..."</p>

<p>Yes -- they've already been sent, though. Sorry if I DID come across as arrogant -- I didn't intend to sound that way. :)</p>